Loudonville, NY - Whitney Cave scored a career-high 22 points and took over the game down the stretch as Fairfield University upset Siena, 74-69, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's basketball action on Friday evening in front of thunderous crowd at the Alumni Recreational Center.

Fairfield (4-8, 2-1 MAAC) entered the game standing at 6th place, while the Saints claimed 4th place in the MAAC.

After leading by as many as 12 in the second-half, Siena (4-8, 1-2) battle all the way back, the Saints got within two-points as Cave broke to the hoop for a nice lay-up which made it 67-69 with 1:21 to go. The Saints fouled Stephanie Cziria, which she converted both free throws to make it 71-67 at the 0:56 mark.

Siena, which missed 3-of-9 three-point attempts in the game, tried to knot the contest on a Katelyn Dooley jumper, but it was off the mark and rebounded by the Stags who gave it up to Meka Werts who was immediately fouled. The freshman, who was 1-of-2 from the line, buried one shot and it was 69-74 with 0.4 seconds remaining.

The Stags clinched the game with 12-of 14 free throws to offset a pair of driving baskets by Siena's Katelyn Dooley.

Over the final 1:21 of the game, the Stags hit 5-of-6 free throws to ice the victory. For the game, the Stags was 12-of-14 from the line, its most points from the line this year. Siena was 16-of-19. The strong free throw shooting helped Siena offset 16 turnovers and the fact that the Stags attempted 14 more shots than the Saints.

After leading 37-34 at the break, Siena opened the second stanza to pull with in one 45-46 with 14:34 on the clock. However, Fairfield roared back as the lead increased to an eight-point advantage that keyed a spurt with 6:28 to go.

The remainder of the game was a dogfight with Fairfield managing to hold on to the lead until Michelle Blot hit a three ball from the left wing at the 2:57 mark. Lauren Surber and Laura Menty each posted doubles with 14 points each, a career high for Surber while Cziria 16 points led Fairfield.

Siena shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field while holding Fairfield to 40.9 percent (27-of-66) shooting. The Stags held a slim 35-34 edge on the boards, but Siena still owns the series 19-18 overall.

The Saints start a two game road trip at Loyola on Monday at 7 p.m. and St. Peter's on Friday tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.